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Hekte
| Issuer | Mytilene |
|---|---|
| Year | 412 BC - 378 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Female head facing left, identified as Ariadne, rendered in fine archaic-to-transitional Greek style. The hair is gathered and enclosed within a sakkos (fabric head covering), which is ornately decorated with three clusters of grapes in relief, referencing Ariadne's Dionysiac associations. Facial features are delicately modeled with a refined profile, displaying a gentle eye, soft chin, and striated hair visible along the brow and nape. The field is smooth and uninscribed, with the portrait occupying nearly the full flan. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Mytilene's electrum hektai were struck under a formalized agreement with the neighboring city of Phokaia, the two poleis alternating annual issues on a rotating basis — a monetary arrangement without close parallel in the Greek world. This particular emission falls within the period following Athens' catastrophic Sicilian Expedition, when Aegean trade networks were badly disrupted and Mytilene itself had only recently recovered from the brutal suppression of its 428 BC revolt, after which Athens had debated — and nearly carried out — the execution of the entire male population.
The Phokaia-Mytilene agreement is attested in an inscription dated to around 394 BC, though the coinage predates the surviving text.